Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers is on pace to receive plenty of awards of varying significance throughout his career. His latest honor likely won’t be the one he points to when it’s all said and done, but he still deserves praise nonetheless.
Devers made MLB.com’s All-Star team as the American League’s starting third baseman for the month of June after hitting .292 with 12 extra-base hits including six home runs, 19 RBIs, and a .979 OPS in 24 games.
He joined Cincinnati Reds’ Brandon Drury at the hot corner and was such a shoo-in he was barely even acknowledged.
“After performing well in spot duty with the (New York) Mets last year, Drury has gotten a chance to play full-time in Cincinnati in 2022, and he has soared,” MLB.com’s Will Leitch wrote Friday. “He’s already tied his career high in home runs (16, set with Arizona in ’16) and, somehow, he’s the centerpiece of this Reds lineup. Seeing Devers here is considerably less surprising.”
Likely much more meaningful for Boston’s cornerstone piece, Devers is the lone Red Sox player to make the second phase of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game fan voting. He will compete with Cleveland Guardian star José RamÃrez, who surpassed Devers by over 100,000 votes in the first phase.
